Dodging Bullets

I wanted to check in with you all and tell you how much I miss you!  Not only have I not been posting, but I haven't been reading either.  I love checking in on everyone, but my personal computer has been locking up within minutes of me logging on for months now.  My little laptop has hung in there for nearly 8 years!  (In fact, it just locked up as I finished typing that sentence.)  I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new laptop yesterday.  To say I'm excited is an understatement.  Anyway... I thought I'd give you a few bullets on what's been going on in our world the past few months.

• Our little guy was sick nearly the entire winter.  Once he got over one cold/cough/etc, he was on to a new one.  It was heart-breaking.  We are sure that all of this illness is going to make him invincible during his school years. We were overjoyed when he went a whole month seemingly healthy.
• The day we were supposed to leave for family vacation, we found out Finley had pneumonia and spent the day in the hospital getting chest x-rays.  When I went to pick up his prescription, I came back out to a flat tire-- all the way to the rim flat.  And it was snowing.  What a day! A few phone calls, two days and $1400 extra on plane tickets later, we were on the beach in Florida, and he was on his way to recovery.  The humid air was just what the doctor ordered (literally).
• We had our first family photos done while on vacation!  I was so excited to have them done.  I instantly regretted not pinning my bangs back, as it was crazy windy.  And, when we got the pictures back, I regretted not working on my arm muscles even more.  Ugh.  But-- the pictures are amazing.  I will share some soon.
• My first Mother's Day was lovely-- and was spent on the beach.  It happened to fall on the day that Fin was 32 weeks and 6 days old-- exactly the same "age" he was gestationally when he was born.  It was such an awesome thought to realize how far he'd come.  I was (and am) so proud!
• Last week, I left J and Fin on their own overnight for the first time.  Not just overnight-- I was gone for 5 days-- in England.  Talk about throwing them into the fire!  They did swimmingly, and I made sure not to ask any questions when I got back.  I did hear from daycare that J dressed him in a white onesie the entire time I was gone.  The girls there got a kick out of it. 
• On Monday, Fin will be 9 months old.  NINE MONTHS!  I absolutely cannot believe how time has flown.  Someone told me last week that since they'd had children they have realized that the days are long and the years are short.  I completely agree.  I am absolutely beat when my head hits the pillow and when it is lifted again in the morning-- but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

That's the quickest rundown I can give you.  I hope you are all well and will check in with you again soon!

Thank You

I wanted to stop in and say a great, big THANK YOU to everyone who sent me messages or commented on my post about the tornado that hit Joplin.  Thankfully, all of my family is accounted for-- and while many lost everything-- they are all safe and well.  The whole event through me for a loop, I must say.  I just cannot imagine what the community is going through.  My parents sent me pictures-- and it looks like a war zone.  Utter destruction.  I had been in a downer mood lately because of the weather here, and it really put me in my place.  No blizzard will ever knock my home to the ground, so I have a lot to be grateful for.

On Saturday, after some very generous donations were collected from friends/coworkers/friends of coworkers, J, Finley and I drove to Frisco to drop off 25 boxes to be delivered to Joplin.  I was able to piggyback on to another former Joplinite's efforts here in Colorado, so the boxes went by semi instead of mail and are expected to arrive tomorrow.  The savings allowed us to contribute financially to the relief, as well, which was something I didn't think we'd be able to do right now.  I spent both Thursday and Friday nights boxing up the donated goods and became a bit emotional thinking about how generous everyone had been.  Times are tight for everyone right now, and people were still willing to give.  People opened up their hearts to me, and it showed me that there really are good people in the world.  It warmed my heart. 

For those of you that aren't familiar with the devastation, here are a few good links.  A couple of them show Grand Ave-- the street I grew up on-- just 4 blocks from where our house stood. 

Hometown Devastation

I know I have been MIA of late, when I promised a comeback.  Unfortunately, this post is less of a comeback and more of a plea for prayers.  My hometown of Joplin, MO was hit by a devastating tornado today.  We have been unable to reach our family members and friends.  I do know that one of my aunts is fine, but we do not have word on anyone else.  My uncle in Grove, OK lost his home to a tornado that hit shortly before the storm moved to Joplin. 

I've been glued to The Weather Channel, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for information regarding which areas of town were hit.  The latest I've seen was that an estimated 75% of town has been destroyed-- including St Johns Hospital.  The nursing home that my grandfather moved out of in December is completely gone. 

It's absolutely heart-breaking.  Please keep everyone in Joplin in your thoughts and prayers.  I know the entire community is hurting.

Tag Team... Back Again

Thank you to everyone who emailed and commented on my last post.  It's reassuring to know that most of you have been in a similar situation while blogging.  I've decided not to give up this little space just yet.  I won't be back up to full-speed for a while, but I will try to check in more regularly. 

I realized that I told you how much I loved Fin's nursery back in September, but I never posted pictures.  I hope to take some this weekend to share with you.  Also, a picture I took of Fin a couple of weeks ago was the "photo of the day" on SpearmintBaby this morning.  Check it out. 

Six Months

Today marked six months since my son was born.  It's also been nearly two months since I've posted.  Honestly, I miss this little space of mine.  I miss sharing what is going on in my life, reading about yours, and chatting with those of you that email me.  I started this blog as a journal in a way... as a way to share with family and friends while keeping a log of what was going on in my life and what I liked at the time.  But, something changed for me six months ago. 

The weekend before my son was born, I found out that a friend of mine was upset about something I had posted on this blog a year prior.   I felt awful that my post made her feel the way she did, but I was equally hurt that she didn't tell me.  I found out in a round-about way that left me feeling just as upset as she was.  Anyway... the whole thing caused me to want to step away from this virtual world completely and grasp on to my reality and let no one in.  Two days afterward, Fin was born unexpectedly.  I jumped into my new life wholeheartedly.  I haven't wanted to miss a minute of being with him, so it's been hard to justify coming back to this blog.  I want to post so badly.  I really do.  But, I'm afraid to talk as freely as I have been in the past.  I am so damn nervous that I'll post something that might offend someone, and I hate that I feel that way. 

So, please forgive me for taking a hiatus for a bit.  I'll come back in time.

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Abbie's Closet: Bags

I still have yet to list anything on Ebay, as I mentioned in early December.  I have, however, taken a bunch of pictures of the items I plan to list.  I thought I would post a few of them here to see if any of you are interested before I list them.  I have already sold the Coach purses I previously mentioned, but I have several others available.  Please email me from the contact page if you are interested, and I will send details.  Thanks!

Fossil

Latico

Express

Limited

Matt and Nat

Tano

Fossil

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho... It's Back to Work I Go!

I certainly didn't intend to leave you hanging for nearly a month.  Once the holidays were over, I realized how little time I had left before going back to work and sending Finley to daycare.  My mom came to visit for about a week, and I've been completely unplugged.  I haven't read any blog posts since the 7th!  Yikes. 

Finley started daycare on Monday as a trial day while I set up my desk and ran errands.  Needless to say, it was a lot harder on me than it was on him.  I cried and cried and cried.  It was ridiculous.  My stint back at work was short-lived, though.  On Thursday, the daycare called to have me pick him up due to a fever.  After a doctor's visit, we found out he had a fever of 103 caused by a double ear infection.  Poor little guy!  You could see how horrible he felt.  It broke my heart.  We stayed home yesterday, and he's feeling much better today with the help of Augmentin.  Yay. 

Here are a couple of pictures we've taken in the past couple of weeks.  It's crazy to think he's already four months old.  Time flies!

I wish I could check in more, but right now, I am concentrating on getting back in the swing of things... so posting will probably be hit or miss for the next month, too.  Thanks for checking in! 

Just Call Me Cookie Monster

In the past two weeks, I've made these cookies seven times... and not because I was necessarily giving them all away. I kept two batches-- and J ate three whole cookies, if that tells you anything. I thought I'd share with you, so you could get the chubs right along with me.
I adjusted mine for high-altitude baking.

Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1-3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Heat oven to 375°F.

In small bowl, combine flour, baking power, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla with electric mixer until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture and milk. Stir in chips, oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are crisp but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

Merry Christmas to All...

And to all a good night!

From our family to yours-- Merry Christmas!